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Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Marc, one little suggestion-
You should probably also buy the domain name of "SqueekCreekHoney.com" because a LOT of people misspell the word squeak as squeek, and will wind up on a "Server Not Found" page....but if you own the misspelled domain too, you can have the page redirect them to the correct domain location.
Along the same line, when you put in keywords for search engines and such, always include the 'squeek' spelling in its various incarnations as well as the correct one, so you don't lose those customers searching for you who can't spell it right. If I had to guess, I'd say that at least 1/4 of people these days probably spell it incorrectly as 'squeek'. (maybe fewer in this thread because they are likely checking your post to spell it the right way).

The little bee returns with evening's gloom,
To join her comrades in the braided hive... -Tennyson

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

I have been cotemplating this myself. I have been cotemplating apiaries or honey. My last name ryhms with bees. So I have settelet on "Crees Bees". I dont know what the future will hold. I would like to get into more than honey. I'm very proud of myself for comming up with Crees Bees.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

A prestigious competitor told me 33 years ago that I should only offer $70000. for my property, not the $115,000. being asked. I bought the property for the higher price anyways. Rent from tenants paid all the expenses until the mortgage was paid off, and still do. The property is worth $1.5 million today, and I have run my business out of it for 33 years.
I am still very cautious listening to advice from experts. If you feel strongly that you are right, you very likely are.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Originally Posted by sqkcrk

I am taking a small business course and the instructor thinks that I should drop the word "Apiaries" from the name of my business, Squeak Creek Apiaries. His line of thinking is that the word Apiaries is hard to say and most people don't know what it means and says about the business. He wants me to think of the brand as being Squeak Creek. Not even Squeak Creek Honey Company, just Squeak Creek. I think I understand where he is going w/ this. I just thought that I would ask y'all.

Any thoughts?

Well, I kinda agree on the apiaries bit, but I think Squeak Creek doesn't give anyone a clue of what you do either, so I think maybe Squeak Creek Bees might work, or Squeak Creek Honey (leave Company off, it makes it too long).

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

It's much harder to say squeak creek than apiaries. We call our business Berkshire Farms Apiary. We live in the Berkshires, keep bees, and most of our hives are on farms so the name says it all. I vote for keeping the Apiaries in your name.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

I think the "expert" was more concerned with the way the words rolled off the tongue. Have you thought of Squeaky Creek Bees? I was thinking of Rays Bees for my name. I think Squeaky Creek Bees has a good roll to it.

Oh, sorry, I just read page two. No, since you've had the name for 20 years already, I agree to not changing the name. You're already known, no need to be changing things that is already working well.

"A good day is when no one shows up and you don't have to go anywhere." - Burt Shavitz (Burt's Buzz)

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

I'm for shortening it. Who says "Ford Motor Company", when you say Ford, everybody gets it. IBM took off when they lost the "International Business Machines". Apiaries always puzzles people. What is that, something to do with birds? Or apes? You want a brand they remember. Squeak Creek is Unique!

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Lol 'they cant pronounce it' is his way of saying people are morons who actually don't know WHAT it means. So, if you deal with alot of public sales, honey is good in your name, if you're involved supplying bulk bees or something if a nature that beekeepers are your clients apiaries is better. If you're working with polli, then add it in your name, because dumb growers wont know what it means, and hey, even dumb people sometimes fall into money. On the note of having had it for 20 years, don't change it, no reason to. Everywhere that name is have "honey for sale" and a phone number.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

You can not look at this from your own point of view. We are all beekeepers we know what Apiaries are and what they do. The general buying public does not, even new beekeepers do not know the word Apiaries when they get into beekeeping. The dumbing down of America is getting worse and you need to explain in simple terms what your product or service is in your business name. I am not saying it is right but if you want sales you need to make it understandable with a glance.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Thanks for all of the input. I think that having "Apiaries" in my company name tells those who know what it means that the company is more than a company that sells honey. It is a company that has bee hives and produces honey, so it knows what went into the production of that honey.

I need to talk to Marc more about this, but he seemed to be leading me to thinking about being more than a source for honey. I need to make my business profitable. Perhaps honey, and pollination service, is not enough to do that.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Now he wants me to change the Squeak part and think about selling things other than honey. I told him that I wasn't making enuf profit and this is what he comes up w/. I did also say that I didn't think that I could raise my prices 25% to make the profit that I would like to have.

I wholesale honey, doing direct store delivery. Raising the price of a Honeybear from $2.20 to $2.75 would make the shelf price around $4.00 in some store to $5.50 in others.

Now, that's just one item, but do you think that people who buy honey at the store would pay that price?

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

mark,

the point i was trying to allude to earlier is that if this guy was really good at running a small business, he would not be head of a department, he would be running a business. ...he clearly doesn't understand your market and your needs.

fwiw, we sell honey in stores at far above the prices you cite...but, in order to do this, we spend a lot of time in the stores doing tastings, and educating the customer. last week, at a tasting, i had someone put back on the shelf a 1lb jar "local raw" honey and exchanged it for a 1/2lb muth jar of the honey we are selling....at 3X the price per pound...the 1/2lb cost more than the 1lb.

this takes time and work....high priced honey will not just float off the shelves on it's own...you have to figure out what your customers want, and figure out how to provide it at a premium price.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

"...Now, that's just one item, but do you think that people who buy honey at the store would pay that price?..." our local walmart sells generic (china) crap honey for more than that. whoever said "all beekeeping is local"? must have meant marketing,too. good luck,mike

"Wine is a constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy" Ben Franklin

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

deknow, do I know what you mean and agree w/ you.

I thought that it was funny when the other night he talked about how much he liked going to this one place for his coffee, because they know just how he likes it and he likes the place. He said that he doesn't know how much he is paying for his coffee. They run a tab for him and he pays it every now and then. Now that is affluent, in my opinion. And not the way the rest of us live, I imagine. I don't have anywhere that I go that runs a tab for me. Just the credit card kind.

A fellow professor or two own the place too. So what does that say? Not real world to me.

mike,
Wally World is selling 12 oz honeybears for more than $5.50 each? I didn't know that. I never go in Walmart, unless I am away from home and need some underwear or jeans. I don't do much shopping. Maybe I need to do some market research.

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

""""I never go in Walmart, unless I am away from home and need some underwear or jeans. I don't do much shopping.""""
it sounds like there is a story in that. i have never been away from home and then suddenly needed underwear and pants. i think you know more about your buisness and market than this small buisness guy. it sounds to me like you need to pick a direction and then work as hard at that as you have been working up till now. that is my expert opinion. if you could see my bank statements right now you would probably ask me to keep my expert opinions to myself. justin

Re: Drop the word "Apiaries" from business name

Well, from pms w/ some folks, maybe I should eithetr raise my prices the 25% I think I need to make a viable business or stop bottling honey and sell it in the barrel. I just like the idea of selling locally produced food to the local market.